Some atheists and agnostics bristle at the allegation that their beliefs (or lack thereof) constitute "religion," but Uncle Sugar treats them as if they were for many purposes.

Theists can be Muslim or Hindu or many other things. Theism is a belief about a religion, not a religion itself. So it is with atheism.

However, you can be discriminated against for not believing in God, just as you can be discriminated against for not recognizing Jesus as the Christ or Muhammad as the Messenger of God. So atheists can be protected under religious discrimination laws.

The reverse would be true in an atheist society with a few religious theists. People could be discriminated against for believing in a god or gods, and so "theism" could be treated under the discrimination laws, even though theism is not a religion itself.

Quote:

Everybody worships something.

False!

"If cousins, I would much prefer to marry one my Neanderthal relatives than a screeching chimpanzee which might bite my face off as has happened recently. Of course, chimps are not even a human species so procreation between humans and chimps is out of the question." - joe_christian, on sex